Transport companies gather at Te Rapa
Te Rapa Gateway Industrial Park is shaping up to become a major hub of heavier transport.
A significant number of transport-related companies are gathering in the 120-hectare park’s northern section, which is gaining a heavy industrial focus.
NAI Harcourts industrial sales and leasing consultant Sean Stephens said demand for industrial land demand was such that development would continue to surge over the next 12 months.
‘‘And it’s far exceeded expectations. It’s only in the last two to three years that it’s taken off, partly due to the world-wide economic cycle but also because Hamilton is enjoying a good economic cycle.
‘‘The 180ha of land for industrial that was opened up and included Te Rapa Gateway was supposed to take care of 20 years’ demand. After five years, approximately 40ha only is left. It shows the extent of the demand.’’
The northern section is dominated by the 22ha Porter Group development, which is believed to be the biggest Hyundai heavy-machinery franchise in the southern hemisphere. It is bookended by Mainfreight to the north and NZ Post to the south.
Southpac Trucks is already established and completed its site on the corner of Earthmover Cres. Others in the pipeline include NZ Trucks, Multispares, Attwoods and Manco.
’’Mainfreight owns the land directly alongside them, and they may in time further develop, as they continue to hold several separate warehouse leases in Te Rapa,’’ Stephens said.
United Industries, which owns Metalcraft New Zealand and manufactures and distributes roof- ing products, has snapped up two sites. Safety and Apparel is well advanced with its development, moving from another part of Te Rapa to a purpose-built site.
Five sites have been taken up by an engineering-related business, and three sites by NZ Trucks.
Stephens said the NZ Trucks sites would be developed by Wallace Development Company Ltd covering 6045 square metres in Earthmover Cres.
Tyler Tabak, Wallace Development Company Ltd’s development manager for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, said NZ Trucks had out- grown its existing building in Kahikatea Drive.
‘‘The new one will be considerably bigger and include a sevenbay workshop with office and parts facilities which will measure up to 1300sqm, and the yard 4500sqm.’’
Growth in the Te Rapa Gateway is ‘‘obviously significant,’’ he said. The key for Wallace Development was that the vendors understood development drivers, ‘‘and came up with a very elegant solution.
‘‘This was our first real push into industrial space in Hamilton ... and we will look to doing more because it’s been a very good process so far.’’
NZ Trucks, a subsidiary of Equipment, Leasing and Finance Holdings Ltd (also the parent company for AB Equipment), is expected to be operating out of its new site by mid-2018.
Attwoods Packaging has quickly outgrown its existing site on The Boulevard, and will move to a larger site built by Downey Construction.
The Waikato and Bay of Plenty branch is four times the size of the existing one, Downey Construction director Jeff Downey said.
His company was ‘‘certainly seeing growth in the industrial sector in Hamilton’’.
‘‘It’s been anticipated for a long time. Hamilton is at the centre of the North Island and manufacturers and distributors are taking this on board, they’re realising Hamilton offers a great location.
‘‘It’s more economic to live here; housing, transport and building costs are not so high. And they’re realising Hamilton is ideally situated for distribution.’’
Downey Construction is building a number of premises in Te Rapa Gateway. ‘‘There’s been a huge lift in inquiries for us to build and we foresee there might become a shortage of industrial land.’’